(Bloomberg) --
Decision day at the ECB, more corporate results, and Puerto Rico governor resigns. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.
Easing?
Today’s monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank may be an unusual mid-summer one, as policymakers might actually decide to change something. While some economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect a rate cut to be announced at 7:45 a.m. Eastern Time this morning, the majority think the bank will signal a cut at its September meeting. The bond market is certainly expecting the ECB to deliver more stimulus soon, while commercial banks in the euro area are becoming increasingly concerned that deeper negative rates will further squeeze profits. The decision today will be followed by a press conference with Mario Draghi 45 minutes later.
Earning
Facebook Inc. once again showed that it can keep growing, with second-quarter sales rising 28% -- beating analyst projections. It seems to be a very different story at Tesla Inc. where the company reported a worse-than-expected loss, and announced the resignation of its chief technology officer. The carmaker’s stock dropped 11% in pre-market trading. Today’s earnings are sticking with the tech theme as Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Intel Corp. are among the companies announcing results.
Going
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello resigned late yesterday, throwing the leadership of the hurricane-ravaged, bankrupt U.S. commonwealth into uncertainty. His exit comes after two weeks of protests fueled by accusations of corruption and profane text messages Rossello sent. The leadership of the island may now fall to the U.S. Congress-created Financial Oversight and Management Board that was put in place to supervise Puerto Rico’s budgets.
Snoozing
Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.2% while Japan’s Topix index closed 0.2% higher despite a dismal earnings report from Nissan Motor Co. In Europe the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.3% higher at 5:45 a.m. as investors mostly sat on their hands ahead of today’s ECB decision. S&P 500 futures weren’t doing much at all, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 2.031% and gold was broadly unchanged.
Cutting
One of the most interesting economic events today will be the decision from the Turkish central bank due at 7:00 a.m., as it will be the first since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired the head of the bank. Economists are certain there will be a cut, but their estimates for how large ranges from 0.5 percentage points to a whopping 8 percentage points. Elsewhere, we get the latest weekly jobless claims data for the U.S. at 8:30 a.m., with durable goods and wholesale inventories published at the same time.
What we've been reading
This is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours.
- The logic behind the bonds that eat your money.
- Trump’s asylum seeker restriction rejected by federal judge.
- A U.S. recession isn’t imminent if you look at Google trends.
- VIX call buying explodes in wave evoking memories of ‘50 cent.’
- U.S. warship sails through Taiwan strait ahead of trade talks.
- Saudi prince’s megacity shows signs of life.
- New discovery sheds light on how planets form.
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